Chelsea's summer transfer window was a bit messy in all honesty, with the Blues eventually signing seven players.
Todd Boehly took over the club in May, with Chelsea behind their rivals in terms of recruitment after being sanctioned under the ownership of Roman Abramovich. With Marina Granovskaia and Petr Cech both leaving, Boehly took on the role as interim sporting director.
From an outside point of view, it came across as a scatter gun approach from Chelsea. Boehly and the rest of the board will be keen not to see a repeat of this in future transfer windows and the club are determined to appoint a new sporting director sooner rather than later.
READ MORE: Chelsea's Christoph Freund alternative responsible for Son Heung-min and Dele Alli transfers
So, with that said, football.london's Chelsea writers Bobby Vincent and Adam Newson sat down to discuss the latest news coming out of Stamford Bridge. Below is a full transcript of a 15-minute conversation talking about Chelsea's pursuit of Christoph Freund, Michael Edwards and Paul Mitchell.
BV: "Adam, can you give us the latest on Chelsea's pursuit of Christoph Freund?"
AN: "Over the weekend, it became apparent that Chelsea had held further talks with Christoph Freund and were very confident they were close to an agreement with him to become their new sporting director. It's a role that's not been filled in a while.
"Todd Boehly filled it for a while. Marina Granovskaia wasn't Chelsea's sporting director, but did oversee transfer business in her role. This was going to be a big hire for Boehly and the new ownership, they were going to be the person that really shaped their vision and make what they want to do a reality in terms of developmental, bringing players through, progression, a clear plan for working towards the future.
"So it is a big appointment for them. Arguably it's even more of a big appointment than the head coach. They felt they got their man at the weekend, they were confident and expected it to happen and then very quickly, really, it was sort of played down by people at Salzburg, who came out and said there was no agreement with them.
"It was quite clear from early on Sunday when the news came out about Freund and Chelsea coming to an agreement that there wasn't an agreement in place with Salzburg on Chelsea's end. That's where I feel we are now.
"Salzburg are being quite bullish – and understandably so given how important he is to their structure and system. He's been their sporting director since 2015 and the amount of talent he's seen in his time come and then move on, it's an incredible list. Naturally, they don't want to let him go, he's also very settled there.
"It would have been a very big step for him. He's only really worked in the Salzburg setup after retiring as a player, so it would have been a big step for him. Maybe it's one where he has some hesitation.
"They did speak to other people earlier in the summer. Michael Edwards being one of them, Paul Mitchell of Monaco being another one. They were also linked with Luis Campos, who is now doing an advisory role at PSG, but I'm not sure how hard or concrete that ever was."
BV: "Just a bit more on Michael Edwards and Paul Mitchell: What can you tell us about Chelsea's interest in them?"
AN: "Michael Edwards is a guy everyone knows from his time at Liverpool. He was crucial to Liverpool's redevelopment under FSG [Fenway Sports Group, Liverpool's owners], he worked very closely alongside Jurgen Klopp, they built this recruitment department to where it's widely seen as Liverpool not having too many transfer misses.
"A lot of that was down to Michael Edwards. It's a famous story now, back in 2017, when the prospect of Mo Salah was floated to Jurgen Klopp, he wanted Julian Brandt, but he was convinced by the recruitment team that Salah would have been a better option for them in terms of Klopp's football. I think it's safe to say it's worked out for Liverpool in that respect.
"Michael Edwards was a hugely influential figure for Liverpool and he's probably the leading recruitment analyst or sporting director you could go for. From what I gather, Chelsea have spoken to Edwards and the answer was: 'Well, thank you. I'm very flattered, but I told my family when I left Liverpool that I want to take a year out and I want to stick with that'.
"So that one is a sort of block in the road. As for Paul Mitchell, another English sporting director who works at Monaco now, he's worked at Tottenham and had a role at Leipzig, too. He's got a wealth of experience, he's done a lot around Europe, so it's an interesting one."
BV: "He [Mitchell] said earlier in the summer that a move to the Premier League is what he eventually wants to do. He spent time at Tottenham and reportedly fell out with Daniel Levy, so that's why that ended. He had a bit of time at Southampton before that, he said he eventually wants to move back. But he did make it very clear that he likes it at Monaco and he likes what's going on there at the moment."
BV: "Do you think Mitchell's Premier League experience would attract Todd Boehly more?"
AN: "I don't think so, but that experience is invaluable and a big selling point for him. If you go through the list of people Chelsea are considering for this role, then you'll see Chelsea are going for what are considered the leading sporting directors in European football, guys who have been at clubs and have built up the club very successfully.
"If you look at what Southampton did a few years ago and in terms of picking out players and then selling them on for a lot of money. Tottenham, also, we saw what they achieved under Pochettino – that rise. You look at Monaco, we know the Monaco story... getting to that Champions League semi-final a few years back with that absolutely incredible group of players who have been sold on since.
"Salzburg are a team that have competed in the Champions League and not only competing in the group stage, but getting out of the group stage and to the knockouts, which for a club of their size, is a huge achievement. Again, it's down to having an overarching ideology of what you want to be as a club and how you want to play and then finding players that fit within that and giving them an opportunity to thrive within that in an environment that perhaps isn't as pressurised.
"We all know Salzburg are dominant within their own league. They will win the title most years, if not all years going forward. So he's had that environment where players can come in and shine.
"It's clear they [Chelsea] are going for the best in class in terms of sporting directors. It's who they end up with. I would be surprised if they only end up with one recruitment hire. I think it will be one or two, especially if they go down the multi-club model, to give them a team to really impress and do the job they want. It will be a slow process but I know they want someone in before the World Cup."
BV: "You said about Michael Edwards potentially being available in less than 12 months. Would Chelsea consider a short-term option if that is the man they want?"
AN: "I think it will come down to how quickly they want someone in. They have internally set a date of trying to get this all sorted before the World Cup. From what I gather, discussions are already going on about where Chelsea will go in terms of targets. They want to strengthen the midfield which is probably logical considering N'Golo Kante and Jorginho are out of contracts.
"They are looking at the goalkeeper, there are options there. That doesn't necessarily mean they are desperate to go on and sign someone, it just means they are evaluating and looking at someone like [Gabriel] Slonina and discussing whether or not he's ready to step up into the squad or if he's not.
"These discussions are happening without a sporting director in place. I guess you can try and run through the season if you really wanted to wait for someone like Michael Edwards. But the problem is then you want to have someone in early so you can go into the summer fully prepared. You don't want to be waiting around.
"I'm not sure, honestly, who would take in on a short-term basis. Neil Bath is obviously someone who the ownership like and truly trust and value and maybe have even considered for this. But if you look at what Neil Bath has achieved with the academy, why would you change that?
"He's so successful in it [his role]. He's arguably the best person in his job in Europe. Why would you try to progress him to a job where he might not be as effective? So, I think if they really, really want to wait, they can, but I don't suspect they will. I think they will be aggressive and try to get them in before the World Cup."
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